and Sweden, in Poland and Hungary, in parts of Germany, and in parts
of Italy. For in small countries public men poor and easily consented
to accept his gifts. In this way he strove to prevent coalitions and
to isolate his enemies. The enemies were Austria and the Netherlands.

Two facts governed the European situation. One was the break-up of
the imperial power in Germany, after the Thirty Years' War. The
effect of it was that France was fringed by a series of small
territories which were too feeble to defend themselves, and which
Germany was too feeble and too divided to protect. There were
Belgium, Liege, Luxemburg, Lorraine, Alsace, and Franche Comte. The
other overshadowing fact was the evident decay of Spain, of the royal
family as well as of the nation. Belgium, Luxemburg, and Franche
Comte were Spanish, and were therefore helpless. The acquisition
of these provinces was an inevitable element of his policy. That was
part of a far larger scheme. Philip IV had no son. His daughter,
Maria Theresa, was heir to his boundless dominions. As early as 1646
Mazarin resolved that his master should marry the Infanta, and that
Spain and the Indies, Naples and the Milanese, and the remnant of the
possessions of Charles the Bold, should be attached to the crown of
France. When the time came, and reluctant Spain consented, at the
treaty of the Pyrenees, Lewis was discovered to be in love with
another lady. Her name was Marie Mancini, the youngest of three
sisters, and she was the cardinal's own niece.

Mazarin, the ablest and most successful of ministers, had one damning
vice. He was shamefully avaricious. He amassed, in the service of the
State, therefore dishonestly, an income larger than that of the King
of England or the King of Spain. The necklace of pearls which he gave
to one of his nieces, and which is at Rome, is said to be still the
finest in existence. But Mazarin, though he was sordid and mean, was a
statesman of the highest rank. He sent his niece away, in spite of the
tears of Lewis, and the Spanish princess became Queen of France. The
independence of Spain, the unity of the Spanish empire, were too grand
a thing to be an item in the dowry of a bride. She was compelled to
renounce her rights, which were transferred to her sister. The
renunciation was conditional. It was to depend on the payment, in due
time, of the Infanta's fortune. As the payment was not made, the
French regarded the su